View full sizeTerry Richard/The OregonianMt. Edith Cavell is a signature peak in Jasper National Park, one of Alberta's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Alberta boasts five of Canada's 13 United Nations World Heritage Sites.

And they are closer to Portland than you think.

Alberta is just a day's drive away from Portland, the same distance as a vacation to Yellowstone or Glacier national parks.

Elsewhere, from out Idaho way, the mountain bikers are getting ready for their winter rides. That means the increasing number of grizzly encounters should take a dive as the great bears prepare for their winter sleep.

Also, a new book on wildflowers lists Mount Rainier National Park as just possibly having the world's best display.This is some of what Northwest newspapers are writing about regional travel and outdoor recreation:

Alberta's UNESCO sites: Alberta is blessed with more than its share of UNESCO World Heritage
Sites, being home to five of Canada’s 13. Four are clumped toward the
southern end of the province and can easily form a scenic loop. The
fifth, Wood Buffalo National Park, could be combined with the Deh Cho
Trail for a trip all its own. Lock the house, kennel the pets and take a
couple of weeks to visit them all. _ From Cheryl Mahafey and the Calgary Herald.

Winter mountain bike riding: Bike tire tracks snaked across the snow-covered trail plotting my
course up the mountain. They signaled the official start of winter
riding season. Last year, I didn’t know there was such a thing.
Yeah, I knew there were some devoted riders who pedaled year round, but I
wasn’t among them. I tried riding in frigid temperatures once and
decided it was great if you wanted to blast-freeze your fingers and toes
and get hoar frost in your lungs._ From Roger Phillips and the Idaho Statesman.

More grizzly encounters:When Connie Funkhouser saw the fresh bear track heading into the
Caribou-Targhee National Forest on her recent run, she turned around.Grizzly
bear encounters are up dramatically this year in Island Park, along the
Snake River near the boundary with Yellowstone National Park.
Funkhouser, who lives in a subdivision on the Henrys Lake flats below
Sawtelle Peak, takes no chances. _ From Rocky Barker and the Idaho Statesman.